Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Srila Prabhupada – My supreme well - wisher

The entire
world was eulogizing, glorifying and worshipping Hiranyakasipu out of fear. But
a small little boy of just five year, Prahlad, refused to accept Hiranyakasipu
as God which shocked, shamed and ultimately finished Hiranyakasipu.

Indians
were enamored by the western way of living and had almost forgotten their
culture. Not just this they were actively participating in demeaning their
tradition and most importantly portraying Vedic literatures as the work of some
lesser mortals. During these difficult times you Srila Prabhupada, just like
fearless Prahlad, fearlessly challenged the might of the western educated (and
influenced) intelligentsia with your supreme intellectual prowess. Your cogent
and deep explanation of Vedic literatures and history removed the veil of
ignorance and many started accepting and appreciating the meaningful messages
of the wisdom literatures.

Srila
Prabhupada, you travelled to the entire world to teach people to lead a God conscious
life. Your teachings were completely based on the timeless teachings of Vedic
literatures. Many saffron robe wearing scholars
had also previously gone to the west but there they did not speak the Vedic philosophy
in toto. They in fact began to adjust (distort) the message of the wisdom
literatures to come in good books of the western (and converted Indians)
educated class.But you never
compromised with the philosophy and so wrote the book “Bhagavad Gita As It Is”.
Here “as it is” means that Krishna’s message is being delivered to the people
in an unadulterated form. Your book “Bhagavad Gita As It Is” is today’s world’s
largest circulating Gita. It was because of your uncompromising integrity and deep
faith in the words of Krishna that in a short span of time you were able to
transform the lives of millions of people. In fact many of them did not even
know who Krishna “is” and what were his messages. But your genuine compassion
convinced them that you are their honest well-wisher who had come to help them to
lead a meaningful life.

Through your
teachings you weren’t merely theorizing but were practically demonstrating how
to lead a God (Krishna) centric life. Most people have got this idea that
spirituality means keeping the picture of a god or gods in a cupboard or
hanging them from a wall, lighting an incense stick and reciting some mantras. After
this they completely forget God for entire day.

But you
taught us:

·There
is only one God and not many gods.

·Krishna
or his plenary expansions like Lord Rama, Lord Chaitanya should be only worshipped
as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

·Whatever
activities we do, even whatever we eat should be done as an offering to the
Lord.

·All
our dealings and livings should be as per the teachings of books like Bhagavad
Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam etc.

It is
because of you that today we know how to celebrate festivals. I have seen that
for most people celebrating festivals like Janmashtami or Ramnavmi means performing
some rituals in the morning and in the evening and throughout the day they just
watch television or movies or spend time in idle gossips. You taught us how to be
engaged 24 hours in a day in remembering Krishna and being engaged in serving
him.You made things so crystal clear
that even a neophyte (like me) can engage himself in devotional life
completely. You made devotional life a joyful experience. Now Krishna and all
his devotees have become a part and parcel of our life.

That the
purpose of human form of life is to return back to the spiritual world would
have remained unknown to us if you would have not revealed it. You not just
told us about the kingdom of God but also explained in detail about that
spiritual abode which inspires us to go there. When you were about to finish
your earthly duties then devotees asked you if you have any wish. Then your
prompt reply was Kuch iccha nahi (Do not have any desire). This is the
quality which each one of us should be aspiring in our life – eschewing all
material desires so that we become eligible to return to the spiritual world.

Kolkata is
a special place for all Iskcon members because it is your birth place. The first
Iskcon temple in India was established in Kolkata by you. When someone asked
you how Krishna looks like then you said that go and see Sri Sri Radha
Govindaji at 3C Albert Road Kolkata. That is how Krishna looks. I consider
myself to be very fortunate to be connected to such a wonderful temple.You have been guiding me through your hundreds
of books and lectures. You have helped me to understand the true meaning and
purpose of my life. My humble request at your transcendental lotus feet is to bless
me so that I can follow you as it is and become an instrument in spreading the
wonderful message of Krishna to all.Along
with this please purify my consciousness and strengthen my determination so
that I can chant sixteen rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily with all seriousness
and follow the four regulative principles of – no meat eating, no gambling, no
intoxication and no illicit sex.My earnest prayer to you is to shower your
choicest blessings upon me so that I can continue practicing devotion throughout
my life. I like writing and want to serve you by writing Krishna conscious
articles. If you think that this service is suitable for me then please give me
sufficient intelligence and enthusiasm to regularly write quality Krishna
conscious articles which can inspire people to take shelter of Krishna’s lotus
feet.